Skoda hopes to dine out on a bigger slice of the ever-decreasing large-car pie with a sharply priced new diesel model of its Superb sedan and wagon combo.

Model watch: Skoda Superb 103TDI

Bucking the industry trend to add a price premium for more frugal diesel power, the Superb 103TDI will be priced the same as the petrol-powered 118TSI model from $38,990 (plus on-road and dealer costs).

The 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine, already in use in the medium-size Octavia and parent company Volkswagen's Golf, makes 103kW of power and 320Nm of torque, or pulling power.

It will be mated solely to a six-speed dual clutch auto and in sedan form is reckoned to burn about 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres and emit 161 grams of CO2 per kilometre (6.2L/163g for the wagon).

That compares with 9.1L/100km for the 3.0-litre petrol-powered V6 of the Commodore Omega and 9.9L/100km for the Falcon XT's 4.0-litre inline six. There will also be an all-wheel-drive version of the Superb 103TDI, adding $3000 to the price. As with other models in the Superb range, 103TDI models will be available in two trim levels, Ambition and Elegance. The managing director of Skoda Australia, Matthew Wiesner, says about 70 per cent of Superb sales are the more powerful 125TDI diesel model and he expects the arrival of the 103TDI in dealers next month to skew that number further in favour of diesel.

''We think there are a lot of people who would like to drive a European car and in the past haven't quite been able to get there,'' he says. ''Our job is to get them in and lift as many people from there into what they ultimately want to drive. We want to bring them. Some of these people will walk up the tree to [sister brands] Audi or Volkswagen and so be it. That's life.''